DOORSTOP INTERVIEW WITH MEMBER FOR CAPRICORNIA MICHELLE LANDY MP IN ROCKHAMPTON, QUEENSLAND

4 August 2017

TOPICS: Labor’s attack on small business; small business trusts; the Government’s tax cuts for small business; Senator Murray Watt

E&OEMICHAEL McCORMACKThe fly in fly out Labor Senator Murray Watt has shown his complete disregard for small business and so has Bill Shorten by wanting to dismantle trusts.

Trusts play a very important role in small business, they play a very important role in regional Australia. What Labor doesn’t get is they enable small business to distribute their income to ensure against seasonal ups and downs.

Now Michelle Landry gets this, Ken O’Dowd gets this. And that’s because they have run their own small businesses. I’ll repeat that – they’ve run their own small businesses.

But what Labor doesn’t understand is that by dismantling trusts you are dismantling small businesses.

We need small business to be absolutely able to succeed. That’s why the Coalition – the Liberals and The Nationals in Government – have reduced taxes to 27.5%. That’s the lowest tax rate since 1940. The lowest in 77 years.

What we’ve also done was we extended the instant asset write-off by 12 months. We have redefined what is a ‘small business’ from $2 million turnover to a $10 million turnover to enable thousands of small businesses across Capricornia, across central Queensland, across Queensland in general and across the nation, to be able to take advantage of those tax rates. They will be able to take advantage of the extension of the instant asset write-off.

But Labor keeps attacking small business. It keeps attacking the backbone of the economy.By dismantling trusts and now they are making some exemptions here and not exemptions there. It places such great uncertainty on small business, and what small business needs now is stability.

What small business needs now is confidence. The small business sector is getting that from the Coalition. It’s getting that from people like Michelle Landry, it’s getting that from people like Ken O’Dowd and it’s certainly getting that from the Liberals and The Nationals in Government.

What it’s not getting is any certainty or any confidence from Bill Shorten, Murray Watt and all the other Labor stooges.

I might ask Michelle to make some comments.

MICHELLE LANDRY, MEMBER FOR CAPRICORNIAThank you.

I find it interesting that Murray Watt, who lives at the Gold Coast, flies in and flies out of Rockhampton to stir up trouble constantly.

We are very supportive of small business and of the farming sector. These trust accounts are what the farmers do use when times are difficult. They have a family trust there so when things are tough and they can’t afford to pay their fees, their staff or other farm expenses they can actually use that.

For the Labor Party to come out and actually say that they are thinking of scrapping that is absolutely ridiculous. Our farmers do it extremely tough. They’re at the mercy of the elements most of the year. Some years they have great seasons and other times they don’t. And for the Labor Party to take away that protection for small business I think is an absolute disgrace.

Our agricultural community is what has built this nation. What are we going to do without food?So I think Labor needs to take this back to the drawing board. Do not consider it. But think more about farmers and small business.ENDS